The Irish are back in action this weekend as hockey prepares to host Bowling Green 7 p.m. on Friday at Compton Family Ice Arena as the Irish look for a second-consecutive win. The series will then conclude on Saturday night at Slater Family Ice Arena in Bowling Green.
Notre Dame found success in its series against Ohio State this past week, losing a hard-fought battle 4-2 on Friday night before dominating Saturday’s finale 6-1. Despite splitting the series, the weekend was a massive success for the Irish as they earned their first conference win of the season and ended their 10-game losing streak.
While the Irish battled the Buckeyes, Bowling Green traveled to Minnesota to face Bemidji State, which the Falcons swept. Friday night, they emerged with a 3-1 win, before cushioning their advantage on Saturday, resulting in a 5-1 win.
The games against Bowling Green are vital to the Irish. The matchup is one of Notre Dame’s best chances for a win against an evenly matched team. Bowling Green ranks third in the CCHA. The Falcons hold a 14-6-4 record, and though they have more wins than the 5-18-1 Irish, the difficulty in the conferences is vastly different. The only two common opponents for the Irish and Falcons are Ohio State and Robert Morris, both of whom the Irish have beaten this season. However, Bowling Green has earned a win against Ohio State but lost to Robert Morris in an October exhibition, leaving little doubt this weekend’s matchup will be entertaining.
Looking at the core of both teams, Bowling Green’s roster is pretty evenly split between upperclassmen and underclassmen, and the Falcons’ offensive results demonstrate their cohesion and ability to work well together on lines split between classes. On the other side of the blue line, Notre Dame’s roster is more uneven. The divide between the classes is visible on the ice. The group has chemistry that depends on specific lines, and work needs to be put in off the ice to grow the magnetism between players to maximize scoring.
One of the more interesting aspects of the two games will be the goaltending. The Falcons have rotated between three goalies, giving each player the opportunity to play at least seven games apiece. Freshman goaltender Jacob Steinman sees the most time — 13 games. Notre Dame’s goaltending relies on sophomore goaltender Nick Kempf. After starting in both games against Ohio State, he is the obvious choice for the battle against Bowling Green.
On offense, the Falcons find success when they rotate goaltenders. Despite scoring 79 goals this season, 16 more than the Irish, none of their individual players scored more than eight goals. The Irish follow the traditional method of relying on key playmakers to score. Graduate forward Sutter Muzzatti and junior forward Evan Werner lead Notre Dame’s offense with 10 goals each.
Notre Dame will battle Bowling Green at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30 in Compton Family Ice Arena before traveling to face the Falcons in Ohio on Saturday.
